Saratoga Report #5

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Questing (GB) – Not much needs to be said here, Questing was just incredible in winning the Alabama on Saturday.  She is now the top three-year filly in the country, and with the health of Bodemeister and Paynter being in question, she might be the top three-year old period right now.  There is no doubt in my mind she’d win the Travers this weekend.  Her beyer number came back as a 106, which is a faster number than I’ll Have Another ran when going a mile and one-quarter.  The sky is the limit for Questing, lets all hope she’s stays happy and healthy.

– 2nd Star: Point of Entry (KY) – I feel a little sorry for Point of Entry because his performance in the Sword Dancer was overshadowed by Questing, but it should not be.  Talk about a dominating effort against a field that most thought to be fairly balanced.  Point of Entry won the Sword Dancer by four lengths.  He basically stalked the pace, and crushed them all down the stretch.  His win earned a speed figure of 103, which is right on line with Little Mikes winning number in the Arlington Million.  The win was his fourth in a row, and second Grade 1 victory.

– 3rd Star: Stephanie’s Kitten (KY) – Stephanie’s Kitten showed tremendous class when winning the Lake Placid (Grade 2) Stakes on Sunday.  She hadn’t raced in almost a year, but still was able to fire a brilliant return as she found room to run late in the race and barreled home to a convincing half-length victory.  She’s now won five out of nine races, with three of those wins coming against graded company.  It’s safe to say she’s back in full force, so look for to have a big fall campaign.  Perhaps a trip to the Breeders Cup will be in the cards.

Flop of the Week

– Grace Hall (KY) – It would have taken a stellar performance to beat Questing, but Grace Hall gave us nothing.  She chased a fast pace throughout the race, and had nothing left in the stretch fading badly and finishing fifth.  It was clearly not her best performance, but it’s also clear that she’s not in the same league with Questing.  Maybe the mile and one-quarter distance was too much for her, or maybe it was an error keeping her so close to the pace.  Either way, she’s was easily the biggest flop of the week.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Todd A. Pletcher	102	25	16	10	$1,843,258		25%	51	50%
2	Chad C. Brown	60	17	14	9	$1,093,232		28%	40	67%
3	Steven M. Asmussen	47	10	8	4	$679,218		21%	22	47%
4	George Weaver	42	8	0	6	$386,639		19%	14	33%
4	Gary C. Contessa	50	8	6	4	$351,099		16%	18	36%
6	William I. Mott	60	7	11	8	$1,009,008		12%	26	43%
6	Christophe Clement	34	7	5	6	$491,399		21%	18	53%
6	Rudy R. Rodriguez	49	7	6	10	$443,293		14%	23	47%
6	Bruce N. Levine	31	7	8	2	$362,258		23%	17	55%
10	Anthony W. Dutrow	30	6	6	3	$372,399		20%	15	50%
10	Dominic G. Galluscio	37	6	5	3	$322,446		16%	14	38%
10	Philip M. Serpe	24	6	2	4	$298,368		25%	12	50%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Ramon A. Dominguez	199	47	35	31	$3,132,320		24%	113	57%
2	Javier Castellano	184	32	27	26	$2,578,315		17%	85	46%
3	Jose Lezcano	146	26	27	19	$1,845,077		18%	72	49%
4	John R. Velazquez	88	22	8	9	$2,190,724		25%	39	44%
5	Joel Rosario	156	19	21	25	$1,505,208		12%	65	42%
6	Junior Alvarado	139	18	19	20	$1,564,939		13%	57	41%
7	Julien R. Leparoux	134	17	23	8	$1,444,658		13%	48	36%
8	Rajiv Maragh	150	14	16	17	$1,180,057		9%	47	31%
9	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	151	12	20	18	$1,453,787		8%	50	33%
10	Rosie Napravnik	152	11	16	16	$1,238,760		7%	43	28%
11	Cornelio H. Velasquez	110	10	13	18	$763,851		9%	41	37%
12	Wilmer A. Garcia	107	9	8	8	$523,209		8%	25	23%

Preview to Next Week

– The Albany Stakes – Wednesday – 3-year-old NY breds – 1 1/8th mile – $150,000

– The Ballerina (Grade 1) – Friday – Fillies and Mares 3 year olds and upward – Seven Furlongs – $500,000

– The Travers Stakes (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3 year olds – 1 1/4th miles – $1,000,000

– The King’s Bishop (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3 year olds – Seven Furlongs – $500,000

– The Test (Grade 1) – Saturday – 3-year-old fillies – Seven Furlongs – $500,000

– The Ballston Spa (Grade 2) – Saturday – Filly and Mares 3 years old and upward – 1 1/16th mile (turf) – $250,000

– The Personal Ensign (Grade 1) – Sunday – Filly and Mares 3 years old and upward – 1 1/8th miles – $600,000

– The Saratoga Dew Stakes – Monday – NY bred Filly and Mares 3 years old and upward – 1 1/8th miles – $100,000